


Treason

by GraceEliz



Series: Assorted Poems [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Poetry, References to gunpowder plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-08-19 22:33:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16543562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GraceEliz/pseuds/GraceEliz
Summary: "Remember remember the fifth of NovemberGunpowder, treason and plot"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So for all you Brits or history people, have a little Bonfire/Fireworks/Guy Fawkes Night inspired poem.  
> The Gunpowder Plot was when a group of thirteen men tried to blow up Parliament in 1605. It didn't work. Fawkes and his accomplices (the ones they caught) were hung, drawn, and quartered as an example to future anarchists. The night has been commemorated ever since.  
> The quote in the summary is from the poem that I can't remember, but it's good, so look it up.

Hide the world ‘neath shades of grey  
Where crimson bloodstains can’t be seen  
Where children’s awe of light and colour  
Is hidden behind an ash-grey veil that  
Slowly  
Leeches all autumnal glory out of leaves.

Gunpowder hangs low in wintery chill  
Stinging acrid up noses and throats  
Reminding all who care to listen:  
No. Not here. This monarchy is to stand.

The Kings we have are cold and the people  
Suffer in hovels removed from courtly colour,  
A far cry from Paradise.  
Glory always carries poverty as its price  
Beckoning from high on, impossible,  
Unreachable. Glory is to God. Amen.

Ash and smog wind through cramped streets  
Stroking brick walls with foggy fingers  
Devils live in dim fog, seeking to devour.  
Hide red blood behind colourless doors  
Keep the children away from redcoat soldiers.

Blood seeps through tired streets, a stain  
That lurks in every kingdom and this  
Most of all. Kings who war their sons,  
Tearing green growth away.  
Gunpowder hangs low in wintery chill  
Stringing blackened smog house to house   
A grisly celebration that  
No, not here. This monarchy is to stand.


	2. Context: Gunpowder Plot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So here's some actually correct historical information.  
> All credit goes to the British Library (as ever).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/autograph-letter-by-ben-jonson-concerning-the-gunpowder-plot
> 
> There's the link.

What was the Gunpowder Plot?

 

The Gunpowder Plot, or the Jesuit Treason as it was known at the time, was a conspiracy to blow up the House of Lords at the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605.The plan was to kill King James I of England and VI of Scotland (1566–1625) along with much of the aristocracy. In their place the nine-year-old Princess Elizabeth was to be installed as a puppet queen.

 

The plotters consisted of a group of 13 devout Catholics who were upset by the persecution of their faith. The group was led by Robert Catesby, a charismatic country gentleman, and included Guy Fawkes (a former soldier and explosives expert), Thomas Percy (a distant cousin of the powerful Earl of Northumberland) and Sir Everard Digby (brother to Sir Kenelm Digby, a close friend of Jonson’s).

 

The Plot did not succeed. Lord Monteagle, a Catholic member of the House of Lords, received an anonymous letter warning him to stay away from Parliament on 5 November. Westminster was subsequently searched and Guy Fawkes was found guarding a huge stash of gunpowder. After days of questioning Fawkes eventually gave up his co-conspirators. They were swiftly rounded up, found guilty of high treason, and sentenced to be hung, drawn and quartered – a gruesome end to a plot that shocked the country and is commemorated to this day on Bonfire Night.


End file.
